Merry Christmas, Abarero!

[hickumu]

I really hope you like it! And I really hope the length is okay. I tried my best to keep it around 1,000 words, but sometimes that doesn't work out so great for me. Hopefully less than 1,500 still works XD .

Title: We Wish You Well
Word Count: 1,488
Fandom: Disney Pixar's Brave
Characters: Elinor, Fergus, Merida, brief appearances by the triplets
Rating: Should be G! As G as G can be, even if it is a teeny bit bittersweet
Summary: A princess has many duties, some that might take her far from home. The day has come for Merida to set off on a voyage to a foreign kingdom to meet and deal with its leaders. Although Elinor and Fergus have all the faith in world in her, although they trust that she'll do them proud and do honor to Dunbroch, they're also still her parents and so they can't help but tear up now that the time has finally come to see her off. However,  family is family, and her parents bring some gifts for their daughter that will hopefully help keep Merida safe and well, and help her keep her family in her thoughts, no matter how great the distance that might separate them.

 

The day had finally arrived, and it was a perfect day for a voyage. The last of the preparations were well underway, with the men and women who would be departing rushing back and forth, loading the last of the supplies, checking this and tying that and calling out orders and replies in an almighty din.

It was all quite foreign to Elinor, as she watched from the dock beside Fergus. She was the queen, and wise in many things, but sailing was not one of them. Really, her parents had never thought that it would come up, and so neither had she.

Merida, being Merida, had risen to the occasion.

Elinor had been opposed, as they must have known she would be. But Merida had argued with maturity and something like eloquence, and her father had, for once, held as steadfast as he could against her. And, in the end, all their arguments and persuasions had crystallized in Elinor’s mind into one solid certainty.

Merida was a princess. One day, she would be queen. She was becoming a clever, skilled, and well spoken young lady. Elinor had no doubt that she would make a fine leader.

But how would Merida ever know that about herself if her mother would not trust her?

“So, are you ready?”

Fergus, one arm around her shoulder, gave her a gentle shake. Elinor nodded, not without some reluctance. But she knew the ship was preparing to depart, whether she wanted it to or not.

All young birds had to learn to fly eventually, and the only way they would was by leaving the nest.

If Elinor kept telling herself that, she hoped she might not fret as much. All the same, as she watched her beautiful daughter bounding around the ship, checking on things and chatting with the sailors and even just staring off into the distance, obviously vibrating to get gone, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sad and wistful.

“All righty, then. Here we go – look lively, lass. Chin up. Time enough for bawling like babbies later.”

He leaned down a bit so that she might look him in the eye a bit easier. And, really, it was impossible to feel nervous or out of sorts with Fergus around, all mass and muscle and wild red hair and gleaming, bright eyes. Elinor had certainly never managed it, and she felt herself smiling up at him and nodding.

“Here we go,” she agreed and, arm in arm, they set off down the docks.

Merida, apparently in anticipation of saying her own farewells, had started off up the docks to meet them. But they soon saw that she’d been intercepted, in what was simultaneously one of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking things Elinor had ever seen.

“Boys, boys!” Merida was saying, turning on the spot to try and keep all three of the boys in sight. This proved impossible, however, as all three were clinging to a different side of her, wearing identical expressions of fierce determination and stubbornness. “I’ll come back! With lots of presents! It’s not like this is goodbye forever!”

“Ah, they’re just missin’ you already, lass.” Fergus was a little more successful in prying his sons off of his daughter’s skirt, although they still weren’t happy about it. “Come on, boys, leave her be.” In fact, Elinor saw that pulling them away was only driving the point home that Merida was leaving. She saw Hamish press his face against Fergus’ shoulder as though he were honestly about to cry.

This was not lost on Merida – perhaps it drove the point home for her, as well. For one wild moment, Elinor thought she might change her mind…but then, her daughter squared her shoulders like the princess she was, smiling up at both of them, confident and strong.

She knew the time had come, and it was only with very great effort that Elinor didn’t succumb to her emotions like the boys. Even Fergus seemed to be getting a little misty in the eye.

“Merida,” she said, folding her arms primly in front of her to hide them shaking. “Before you go, your father and I have brought you some gifts that we hope will see you well on your journey.”

“Oh?” Merida asked, trying to maintain her decorum in the face of her obvious excitement. “Presents? For me? Why, you shouldn’t have!”

She was clearly glad they had, though. Clearing his throat, Fergus stepped forward, holding out his first gift to her proudly.

“This,” he said, with some ceremony. “Is a fishing pole. You’re going to be seeing a lot of fish on this voyage, more than you’d find in any river around here. If you find any tasty ones, be sure and make a note of it.” He gave her an exaggerated wink, before jerking a thumb at Elinor. “You know how your mother loves her fish.” He didn’t even bother to dodge her retaliatory swat to the arm.

“And this,” he said, presenting a much heavier object to her. “Is a club, in case any of the fish get uppity. You won’t be able to go shooting arrows through their heads on a boat, so if any try to drag you in, just give ‘em a good whallop with this.”

Merida staggered a bit under the weight of the club, but she grinned all the same. “I’ll remember,” she promised.

And with that, it was Elinor’s turn. Fergus stepped back, using his now free hands to give her a subtle nudge forward. Elinor didn’t miss a step, though – she was actually grateful for the push.

“Merida,” she said, holding out her bundle. “While I’ve never had the…pleasure of going sailing myself, I know that the nights can be fiercely cold. A princess must attend to her own health, so that she can attend to her other duties. And so I hope this will serve you well along your journey.”

It was a thick, heavy blanket, woven by Elinor’s own hands. But that wasn’t what left Merida with no words. No, what left the princess speechless was the design that Elinor had carefully folded the blanket to be visible on top.

It was an image of a two great, glossy black bears, accompanied by three little bear cubs, all standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. Waiting patiently for the return of one who had departed.

“Oh, mum…” Merida murmured, staring at it as though it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Even though her head was bowed, Elinor saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. It seemed that these gifts, and all the love poured into their crafting, had finally driven the point home for the princess.

She couldn’t hug them, holding onto a fishing pole, a club, a blanket, and the object wrapped inside the blanket. Elinor, Fergus, and the triplets all hugged her instead. And after that, there was no holding back the tears any longer. They might have been the royal family, but they were still a family. Even if they knew Merida would be all right, and all wished her the best, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t cry at this parting, and cry when she finally returned.

Of course, they also wouldn’t stop her, and Merida wouldn’t be stopped. The parting came soon after that, with Merida boarding the ship with her head held high, and all her family clustered together on the pier to wave her off. The ship was pushed away, the sail unfurled and caught the wind, and the vessel began to bear Merida away from her familiar shores of home, far across the sea.

They waved to her, and she waved back, until they were separated by the horizon. Then Elinor and Fergus took the twins home, and Merida retired to her cabin to leave her gifts somewhere safe.

It wasn’t until she unfolded the blanket to lay on her bed that she saw what else Elinor had given her to see her safely on her journey. Merida had grown like a weed in the last few months, being Fergus’ daughter, so much so that she’d outgrown her old bow. What with one thing and another, in preparing for the voyage, she hadn’t thought to get a replacement made.

But, wrapped safely in the blanket until it needed to be used, was a beautifully carved longbow. Merida had overseen dozens of tiny little matters to make sure the voyage could go smoothly. Elinor might have been the queen, but she was also her mother, and so hadn’t seen any harm in tending to just one on her daughter’s behalf.

There was a note tied to the bow. When Merida unwrapped it and read it, the five words written in neat script made her laugh and then made her cry all over again in the privacy of her little room.

No weapons on the table.

Comments

[gigirl942]

;-; That was awesome. You should be so proud omg

A++ would read again! :D

[hickumu]

Oh, thank you! I am very proud, if only because it turned out to be a lot harder to finish this up than I thought :) . But I'm very glad it turned out so well - thank you for commenting!

[abarero]

Ahhh, this is so perfect! You've really captured the emotions well amongst this family and their voices as well. Thank you so so much for such an amazing gift!

[hickumu]

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! The effort was well worth it, then :) . You are most welcome, and Merry Christmas!